Convertible stocking cart

ABSTRACT

A wheeled cart has a generally flat base platform with a plurality of wheels supporting the platform above the ground. A handle frame extends upwardly from the rear end of the cart. The platform has a plurality of spaced, upwardly facing supports for releasably mounting accessories on the platform to extend upwardly from the platform. Accessories are provided for conversion of the cart between stocking and other purposes, including at least one horizontal support panel for supporting items at a location spaced above the platform and at least one vertical support frame for holding items at predetermined locations on the platform.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates generally to wheeled carts as usedin stores and the like for carrying items, and is particularly concernedwith a stocking cart as used by store personnel in re-stocking shelves.

[0002] There are many different types of wheeled carts which are usedfor carrying items from one place to another, including the types ofcart normally used in various types of stores, as well as carts ordollies used in industrial applications for moving materials, andluggage carts. Most such carts have a wheeled base, which may or may nothave a platform for supporting items, and a handle projecting upwardlyfrom the rear end of the base. Shopping carts used in grocery stores andthe like to transport a number of relatively small items generally havea basket spaced above the wheeled base. Other, larger carts are used totransport larger items, either in stores, warehouses, or elsewhere, suchas building or construction materials, electronics or other equipment,furniture, domestic appliances or the like. These include platform orflat bed carts which have a base comprising a generally flat platformfor supporting goods, and lumber carts as used in hardware orconstruction material stores.

[0003] Some types of carts, particularly shopping carts, are designed tonest together in lines for storage and transportation purposes. Others,such as lumber carts and flat bed carts, often are not nestable andtherefore take up a considerable amount of storage space when not inuse. Some nesting arrangements are relatively complex, including hingedrear walls or bases which must pivot upwardly or inwardly in order topermit nesting. This has the disadvantage that any damage to thepivoting arrangement or adjacent areas of a cart may result in jamming,such that two carts can no longer be readily separated.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,029 of Ondrasik describes a nestable flat bedcart in which the base platform or deck has a rear, hinged portion whichcan lift up in order to allow the forward end of the platform of anothercart to be nested under it. This does conserve some space, but it doesrequire the base platform to include moving parts, and does not allowthe forward end of a rear cart to be nested fully up to the forward endof the cart in front.

[0005] Although a conventional flat bed cart can carry relatively largeitems on the base platform, its carrying capacity is limited and thereis no way of preventing smaller items from moving around on theplatform. The platform is also quite low, requiring personnel using thecarts to stock shelves to bend down repeatedly in order to retrieveitems from boxes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved wheeled cart for transporting items in stores, warehouses, andthe like.

[0007] According to the present invention, a wheeled cart is provided,which comprises a generally flat platform having a front end, a rearend, opposite sides, a plurality of wheels supporting the platform abovethe ground, an upwardly extending handle frame extending upwardly fromthe rear end of the cart, the platform having spaced, upwardly facingsupports for releasably mounting accessories on the platform to extendupwardly from the platform to support items on the platform or raisedabove the platform, the accessories comprising at least one horizontalsupport panel for supporting items at a location spaced above theplatform and at least one vertical support frame for holding items atpredetermined locations on the platform.

[0008] The handle frame may have a horizontal, box supporting portion atits upper end in order to support a box while store personnel removeitems from the box in order to stock a shelf. The platform has a firstpair of upwardly facing supports at a location spaced forwardly from thehandle frame, for holding a vertical support frame parallel to andspaced a short distance from the handle frame in order to define a slotfor holding empty boxes which have been folded flat. This enables anindividual stocking store shelves to place a plurality of full boxes onthe platform in front of the vertical support frame, and to successivelyposition one box in turn on the horizontal box supporting portion of thehandle frame while emptying the box. When the box is empty, it can befolded flat and placed in the slot between the handle frame and verticalsupport frame. This will make stocking of shelves much easier and moreconvenient. Thus, the cart of this invention may be readily convertedfrom a platform cart to a stocking cart, and vice versa.

[0009] The platform may have another pair of upwardly facing supports atits forward end, for releasably holding another vertical support frameat the forward end of the platform. This will help to prevent items fromfalling off the platform. At the same time, the forward vertical supportframe and the handle frame have cross bars at approximately the sameheight, and form a support for an upper support platform which hasopposite ends releasably engaging the vertical support frame and handleframe to provide an upper support platform of similar dimensions to thebase platform. This provides a convenient surface for store personnel tocut, package or otherwise prepare produce for sale. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the base platform is provided with furthersupports adjacent the handle frame, and at least one accessory isprovided for engaging the further supports. This accessory comprises araised platform which is shorter than the length of the base platformand which has support legs which engage in the further supports in thebase platform. Other accessories which may be provided include a basketwhich may be designed to hang from the box supporting portion of thehandle frame, in order to carry small items.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the opposite sidesof the platform taper inwardly from the rear to the front end of thecart, and the platform has a downwardly facing recessed area extendingfrom the rear end to the front end, and the platform being fixed andhaving no parts which move relative to the handle frame, whereby thefront end of the platform of a second identical cart can be nested underthe platform of the first-mentioned cart and into the downwardly facing,recessed area such that the platform of the second cart is positionedbeneath the platform of the first-mentioned cart.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, one or morerotatable members such as casters, wheels, rollers, bearings, or thelike may be provided either at the rear end or the front end of theplatform, for assisting with nesting of the carts. If provided at therear end of the platform, the rotating member or members are designed toengage the front end of a second cart as it is pushed into the firstcart from behind, and then roll smoothly over the flat upper surface ofthe platform of the second cart as it is pushed under the platform ofthe cart in front. It will be understood that the rear wheels of theforward cart will be lifted from the ground as the rear cart platform ispushed underneath the front cart platform. This also helps to reducewear on the rear wheels as a line of nested carts are moved between aparking lot and the store. In the alternative arrangement, where one ormore rotating members are provided at the front end of the platform,these will engage the smooth, flat undersurface of the platform of thefront cart as a second cart platform is pushed underneath. In eithercase, the rotating member or members will assist in the smooth nestingof the platform of one cart under the platform of the cart in front.

[0012] The convertible, nestable stocking cart of this invention iseasily convertible for a number of different uses and operations, simplyby adding or removing various accessories on the base platform. It isprovided with a box stand to hold boxes at a convenient height whilestocking shelves, as well as an accessory to define a slot orcompartment for holding emptied boxes. Other accessories may be used toadd a raised short or long platform spaced above the base platform, foradditional storage space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The present invention will be better understood from thefollowing detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in whichlike reference numerals refer to like parts and in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the stocking cart accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the invention showing two accessories inposition for attachment;

[0015]FIGS. 2A-2C are enlargements showing alternative caster mountingarrangements;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the cart with theaccessories attached.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a tray accessory;

[0018]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a full tray accessory;

[0019]FIG. 6 is a side view of the cart with the tray accessoryattached;

[0020]FIG. 7 is a top view of the cart with the shelf accessoryattached;

[0021]FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 7and showing an optional basket accessory; and

[0022]FIG. 9 is a side view showing two carts nested.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]FIG. 1 of the drawings illustrates a stocking cart 10 of the flatbed or platform type according to an exemplary embodiment of theinvention, while FIG. 9 illustrates nesting of two carts 10. The cart 10basically comprises a wheeled base frame 12 and a flat base or platform14 carried above the frame 12. A pair of rear caster wheels 16, a centerpair of wheels 17, and a pair of forward caster wheels 18 are mounted onbase frame 12 at the rear, center and forward ends of the frame,respectively. The cart may be readily converted from a platform cart toa stocking cart, as described below.

[0024] An upright handle frame 20 has legs 21 which project upwardlyfrom the rear ends 22 of base frame 12, and which are secured to therear end 23 of the platform 14. The handle frame 20 has a rearwardlydirected, horizontal support portion 24 at its upper end, formed byrearwardly directed portions of the legs 21 which are secured togethervia handle bar 25 at their rear ends. A cross bar 26 extends between thelegs 21 adjacent the horizontal support portion 24, and has a raisedcentral portion 28 aligned with handle bar 25 to form part of thehorizontal support portion or stand 24, as best illustrated in FIGS. 1and 3.

[0025] A pair of nesting guide wheels or casters 30 project rearwardlyfrom the rear end 23 of platform 14. The nesting structure of the cart10 is the same as described in a copending application of Orozco filedon even date herewith and entitled “Nestable Cart”, assigned to the sameassignee as the present application, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

[0026] The platform 14 has a plurality of supports for releasablysupporting various accessories which are illustrated in FIGS. 1,3,4 and5. A first pair of supports comprises a pair of upright hollow tubularposts 32 which extend upwardly between the forward end of the frame andthe forward end 34 of the platform 14. A first accessory for releasablemounting on the cart using posts 32 comprises a generally U-shapedvertical support frame 35, as illustrated in FIG. 1 prior to mounting onthe cart. The vertical support frame 35 has a pair of vertical legs 36connected together by a cross bar 38 at their upper ends, withadditional spaced cross bars 40 extending between the legs at spacedheights for added strength and rigidity. The lower ends 42 of the legs36 are inserted into the upper ends of the posts 32 as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 3. In the installed position of FIG. 3, the vertical supportframe will help to hold items placed on platform 14 on the cart,reducing the risk of any items falling off the front end of theplatform.

[0027] A second pair of vertical, hollow support posts 44 extendsbetween the base frame 12 and the platform 14 at a location spacedforwardly a short distance from the rear ends of the frame and platform.The platform 14 has openings 45 adjacent its opposite side edges whichcommunicate with hollow posts 44. A second U-shaped vertical supportframe 46 of larger dimensions than frame 35 is provided for releasableengagement in openings 45 and posts 44, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3.Frame 46 has vertical legs 48 with lower ends 50 for engagement in theopenings 45 and aligned posts 44 as indicated in FIG. 3, and a cross bar52 connecting the legs at their upper ends. A further cross bar 54extends between the legs adjacent their lower ends, and a vertical bar55 extends between the center of bar 54 and upper cross bar 52 for addedrigidity and support.

[0028] A further pair of vertical, hollow support posts 56 extendupwardly from the opposite, rear corners of the platform 14, adjacentthe legs 21 of the handle frame, as best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3. Apair of shorter hollow support posts 58 extend upwardly from the rearend of the platform at locations spaced inwardly from posts 56.

[0029] FIGS. 4 to 7 illustrate additional accessories which may beselectively mounted on the cart 10. FIG. 4 illustrates a short supportpanel 60 having a pair of vertical support legs 62 at its rear end, witha support strut 64 extending from each leg to a location on panel 60spaced forwardly from the rear end, to form a triangular support for thehorizontal platform or panel 60, as best illustrated in FIG. 6. Thelower ends of legs 62 are inserted in the corner support posts 56 asindicated in FIG. 6 in order to support the panel 60 at a locationspaced above platform 14, providing an additional support surface forsmaller items. This provides a convenient raised surface or table foruse in making notes, cutting foods, or other preparation of productsprior to stocking of shelves.

[0030]FIG. 5 illustrates a longer support platform 65 of largerdimensions than panel 60. The shape and dimensions of platform 65 aresimilar to those of the base platform 14. Platform 65 has a pair ofhooks 66 at its forward end 68 and a pair of hooks 70 at rear end 72.The hooks 66 are engaged over the upper cross bar 40 of vertical frame35, and the hooks 70 are engaged over the handle frame cross bar 26, asindicated in FIGS. 7 and 8, in order to install platform 65 on the cart.This provides an additional raised support platform 65 above baseplatform 14, significantly increasing the carrying capacity of the cart.In order to install platform 65, the front vertical support frame 35must be installed, while the second vertical support platform isremoved.

[0031] As best illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the handle bar 25 may alsobe provided with a pair of spaced hooks 74 for carrying bags and thelike. Additionally, as indicated in FIG. 8, a further accessorycomprising a small basket 75 may be provided for suspending from thehorizontal, box supporting portion or stand 24 of the handle frame, viahooks 76 engaging over the horizontal portion of each leg 21. This willenable relatively small items to be carried on the cart without risk oflosing the items. Alternatively, the horizontal portions of the legs 21may be provided with hooks for suspending basket 75.

[0032]FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate three alternative ways of mounting therear casters 16 on the base frame 12 of cart 10. In the prior art, therear casters were generally secured in the lower ends of the handleframe tubes by rivets or via a threaded insert. However, the wheelmounts tend to become loose over time, leading to poor operation of thecart. In the cart of this invention, the casters are instead boltedsecurely to a flat mounting bar secured across the lower ends 80 of eachof the handle bar vertical legs 21, rather than directly in the lowerends of the legs. It will be understood that the locked caster mountingarrangement of FIGS. 2A to 2C may alternatively be used on other typesof wheeled carts, such as other types of platform carts, lumber carts,shopping carts, and platter carts.

[0033]FIG. 2A illustrates the mounting of FIGS. 1 and 2, in which therear end 22 of each side of the frame 12 is raised and welded to therespective handle frame leg 21 at a location spaced above the lower endof the leg. A bar 78 is then welded between the lower end 80 of leg 21and the side of the frame, with the caster housing 79 secured to bar 78via locking nut 81 engaging over the threaded end of shaft 83, asindicated in FIG. 2A.

[0034] In the alternative of FIG. 2B, the flat bar 78 is replaced withan angle bar 82, but the mount is otherwise identical to that of FIG.2A. In FIG. 2C, the respective sides of frame 12 have no raisedportions, but are welded directly to the lower ends 80 of the legs 21. Aflat mounting bar 84 is welded across the lower end of the leg 21 toproject forwardly from the leg, and the caster is mounted on the forwardend of bar 84.

[0035] The alternative configurations of the cart will now be describedin more detail. The configuration illustrated in FIG. 3 may be used whena cart is used to stock shelves in stores, for example. In thisconfiguration, the first vertical frame 35 is mounted in posts 32 at thefront end of the platform, and the second vertical frame 46 is mountedin posts 44, to define a compartment or slot 85 between frame 46 andhandle frame 20 to hold flat items such as empty, flattened boxes,panels, pictures, or the like. In this configuration, full boxescarrying items for re-stocking shelves may be placed on the platform 14between vertical frames 35 and 46. On arriving at a shelf to be stocked,a box can be placed on the box support stand 24 at the upper end ofhandle frame 20, where it will be at a convenient height for theindividual stocking the shelf, such that they do not have to bend overto retrieve items in the box. Once the box is empty, it can be flattenedor folded and placed upright in compartment 85 between frame 46 andhandle frame 20. The procedure is repeated until the shelves are stockedand the boxes are all emptied.

[0036] If it is desired to use the cart 12 as a conventional flat bed orplatform cart, the front vertical frame 35 can be removed from posts 32,and placed into posts 58 at the rear end of the cart, adjacent thehandle frame, for storage purposes. Frame 48 can also be removed, ifdesired, or left in place if the user desires to have a vertical storagecompartment 85 for flat items such as wood panels, pictures, and thelike. If additional storage or item carrying space is required, one ofthe flat platforms 60 or 65 may be readily installed, as indicated inFIG. 6 or FIGS. 7 and 8. Basket 75 may be added as needed.

[0037] When the cart is not in use, it may be readily nested with othersuch carts as indicated in FIG. 9. As has been noted above, the cart ofthis invention is nested in an identical manner to the nesting platformcart described in our co-pending application entitled “Nestable Cart”,of Miguel J. Orozco, referred to above, and filed on even date herewith.FIG. 9 illustrates two carts 10 nested together, but it will beunderstood that additional carts may be nested with the first two in anequivalent manner. In order to nest two carts, the rear cart 10 ispushed into the back of the forward cart 10. The base frames 12 are bothopen at the rear of the cart and taper inwardly from the rear to thefront of the cart to permit nesting. The forward end of the platform 14of the rear cart will first contact the nesting guide wheels 30 at therear of the front cart, and the guide wheels 30 will ride up overplatform 14, lifting the platform and the center and rear caster wheels16 of the front cart from the ground. The nesting guide wheels willensure that the two carts can be smoothly and easily nested togetherinto the position indicated in FIG. 6. This arrangement will also raisethe central and rear wheels from the ground to reduce wear and draggingwhen a line of carts is transported from a parking lot to a store, forexample.

[0038] The nesting guide wheels 30 at the rear of the cart may bereplaced with any of the alternative nesting arrangements defined in ourco-pending application identified above. For example, nesting guidewheels may be provided at the front end of the platform 14 rather thanthe rear end. The separate guide wheels may be replaced with a singleroller or other curved nesting formations.

[0039] Although the stocking cart 10 of FIGS. 1 to 9 is provided withnesting guide wheels in the illustrated embodiment, it may also beprovided without any specific nesting formations in other embodiments.In this case, it will still provide the versatility of converting fromvarious different possible configurations depending on the current useof the cart, potentially replacing several different carts with a singleconvertible cart. In either case, the cart can be readily convertedbetween a configuration suitable for stocking shelves to otherconfigurations suitable for transporting various different size items,such as a platform or flat bed cart configuration.

[0040] Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has beendescribed above by way of example only, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the field that modifications may be made to the disclosedembodiment without departing from the scope of the invention, which isdefined by the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A wheeled cart, comprising: a generally flat platformhaving a front end, a rear end, and opposite sides; a plurality ofwheels supporting the platform above the ground; an upwardly extendinghandle frame extending upwardly from the rear end of the cart; theplatform having a plurality of spaced, upwardly facing supports forreleasably mounting accessories on the platform to extend upwardly fromthe platform, each support comprising a socket and the sockets beingarranged in pairs; the accessories comprising at least one horizontalsupport panel for supporting items at a location spaced above theplatform and at least one vertical support frame for holding items atpredetermined locations on the platform; and the vertical support framehaving a pair of spaced legs and the horizontal support panel having apair of downwardly depending legs at one end only of the panel, the legson the frame and the panel being of predetermined shape and dimensionsfor sliding axial engagement in a selected pair of sockets.
 2. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the opposite sides of theplatform taper inwardly from the rear to the front end of the cart, andthe platform has a downwardly facing recessed area extending from therear end to the front end, the platform being fixed and having no partswhich move relative to the handle frame, whereby the front end of theplatform of a second identical cart can be nested under the platform ofthe first-mentioned cart and into the downwardly facing, recessed areasuch that the platform of the second cart is positioned beneath theplatform of the first-mentioned cart.
 3. The apparatus as claimed inclaim 2, including at least one rotatable member mounted on the cart andextending rearwardly from the handle frame adjacent the rear end of theplatform, the rotatable member comprising guide means for engaging theplatform of a second cart as it is nested under the platform of thefirst-mentioned cart.
 4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe handle frame has a horizontal, box supporting stand at its upper endfor supporting a box.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein Awheeled cart, comprising: a generally flat platform having a front end,a rear end, and opposite sides; a plurality of wheels supporting theplatform above the ground; an upwardly extending handle frame extendingupwardly from the rear end of the cart; the platform having a pluralityof spaced, upwardly facing supports for releasably mounting accessorieson the platform to extend upwardly from the platform; the accessoriescomprising at least one horizontal support panel for supporting items ata location spaced above the platform and at least one vertical supportframe for holding items at predetermined locations on the platform: andthe supports include including a first pair of upwardly facing supportsat a location spaced forwardly from the handle frame and located closerto the rear end of the cart than the front end of the cart, and thevertical support frame has having legs for releasable engagement in saidfirst pair of supports to extend parallel to and spaced a short distancefrom the handle frame to define a compartment for holding empty boxeswhich have been folded flat between said handle frame and said verticalsupport frame, the compartment having an open upper end.
 6. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the supports include a second,forward pair of upwardly facing supports at the front end of theplatform, and the accessories include a second vertical support framefor releasable engagement in said forward pair of supports.
 7. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supports further include arear pair of upwardly facing supports aligned with the forward pair ofsupports for releasably supporting said second vertical support frame ina stored position when not in use.
 8. The apparatus as claimed in claim1, wherein the supports sockets include a rear pair of upwardly facingsupports sockets at the rear end of the platform and the accessoriesinclude a horizontal support panel having a pair of legs being adaptedfor releasable axial sliding engagement in said rear pair of supportssockets to support the support panel horizontally at a location spacedabove the platform.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein theaccessories further include a horizontal support platform ofapproximately the same dimensions as the base platform, the supportplatform having a forward end and a rear end, and hooks at the forwardand rear end for releasable engagement over the second vertical supportframe and handle frame, respectively, to hold the support platformhorizontally at a spaced height above the base platform.
 10. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a basket for releasablymounting on the handle frame for holding small items.
 11. The apparatusas claimed in claim 1 claim 5, wherein the supports comprise hollowposts having open upper ends for receiving said accessories.
 12. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wheels comprise a forwardpair of wheels and a rear pair of caster wheels, the handle frame has apair of vertical legs on opposite sides of the platform, the handleframe legs having lower ends, and a mounting bar is secured across thelower end of each handle frame leg, each caster wheel being bolted to arespective one of said mounting bars.